USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume III > Part 3
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Gregory Clement, of London, England, member of the Cromwell Parliament, and one of the judges who tried and convicted Charles I. in 1648. Maternally she was a granddaughter of Samuel Harrison, mar- iner, of Gloucester county, New Jersey, who tradition says was a son or grandson of General Thomas Harrison, one of the signers of the death warrant of Charles I. and who was executed after the Restora- tion.
Samuel French, second son of Charles (2) and Ann (Clement) French, was born in Waterford township, Gloucester county, New Jersey, September 17, 1748, died July 8, 1814. He became a large landowner, prosperous farmer, and public man, serving in the New Jersey Legis- lature from Gloucester county in 1795-96- 97, 1800-01-02. He was devoted in his allegiance to the Society of Friends, and throughout a manhood of half a century manifested the qualities of his conscien- tious, vigorous, industrious, and honor- able ancestry. He married Sarah, daugh- ter of Jacob (2) and Agnes (Buckman) Heulings, of Evesham township, Burling- ton county, New Jersey. She was a great- granddaughter of William Buckman, who came to Pennsylvania in 1682 with Wil- liam Penn in the "Welcome," also a great- granddaughter of William Heulings, a justice of the peace for Burlington county in 1703.
Uriah French, eldest son of Samuel and Sarah (Heulings) French, was born July 13, 1770, died September 27, 1825, "fifty minutes past three o'clock in the after- noon." He was his father's assistant for several years on the farm and saw-mill property located near Mullica Hill, New Jersey, and although inheriting this prop- erty in 1814, he sold it within the same year. About 1817 he moved to Swedes- boro, New Jersey, where he engaged in mercantile business and resided until shortly before his death in 1825. His home
and store was a large brick building with commodious basement built about 1784, a wharf a few feet from the basement door extending into Raccoon creek afford- ing facilities for receiving and shipping goods. He married Mary, daughter of Isaac (3) and Hannah (Tilton) Ivins, of Salem county, New Jersey. Her great- grandfather, Isaac Ivins, for half a cen- tury kept a general store and trading post at Georgetown, which was the resort of Indian and white trappers. Mary Ivins French survived her husband, and spent her widowed years at Mullica Hill. Sarah Heulings, daughter of Uriah and Mary (Ivins) French, married Jeremiah J. Rich- ards, of previous mention.
Uriah French Richards, youngest child of Jeremiah J. and Sarah Heulings (French) Richards, was born at Mickle- ton, New Jersey, March 27, 1847, died in Montreal, Canada, March 4, 1915. He was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia, and naturally had a predilec- tion for the drug business, with which the name French is so intimately and promi- nently connected. He entered the Phil- adelphia College of Pharmacy and was graduated from that institution with honors, Ph. G., class of 1871. Immedi- ately after graduation he was given a position in the wholesale drug business of which his maternal uncle, Clayton French, was the head, and to his college training added the knowledge of the prac- tical side of the drug business. He was very industrious and observant, and after gaining the necessary experience formed a partnership with Dr. Armstrong and opened a drug store in Camden, New Jer- sey, there conducting a very successful business for several years under the firm name of Richards & Armstrong. This firm finally dissolved, Mr. Richards then opening a store at No. 309 Market street, where for many years he conducted a prosperous business. He was one of the
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George C. Murray
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best known men in the drug trade in Camden, his store one of the finest in the city. He built up an enviable reputation for the purity and reliability of his prepa- rations, and gained the public confidence as an honorable, upright business man and citizen. Not long prior to his death he retired from the retail drug trade, closed out his interests in Camden, and accepted a position as traveling salesman for a wholesale drug firm of Baltimore. While in Montreal in the interests of his firm he was suddenly stricken by death. During his Camden residence he took a deep interest in all that affected the city, and bore his full share of responsibility. He served in the National Guard as a member of the Sixth Regiment, and was keenly alive to his duties as a citizen, but neither sought nor accepted public office. He was an active member of the Presby- terian church, and deeply interested in the Sunday school, where he was the in- strument of much good.
His body was brought to Camden by his only living sister, Mary French John- son, and lovingly laid at rest in Evergreen Cemetery.
MURRAY, George Crawford, Ideal Citizen, Legislator.
The late George Crawford Murray, of Middletown, Monmouth county, New Jersey, was one of those men whose lives and characters are of inestimable value as exemplars of what worthy lives should be. His ambition was ever along the worth- iest lines and his whole life was devoted to the highest and best ideals. His nature was of singular sweetness, openness and sincerity. He had a profound knowledge of human nature, and was ever thoughtful for the welfare of his fellow beings. His family, which was of Scotch descent, was resident in New Jersey from about the middle of the eighteenth century.
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Joseph Murray, great-grandfather of George Crawford Murray, came to New Jersey from Londonderry, Ireland, with his mother, Elizabeth. His house, which is still standing, was built with a very solid foundation, also the barn, construct- ed about the same time. He was enrolled as a private in the First Regiment Mon- mouth Militia, recorded in Trenton as follows: "State of New Jersey, Office of Adjutant-General, Trenton, March 26th, 1895. It is certified that the records of this office show that Joseph Murray served as a Private in the First Regiment, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Militia in the Revolutionary War, and that he was killed by Tories at Middletown, Mon- mouth County, New Jersey, June 8, 1780. (Seal). William S. Stryker, Adjutant- General." He was a plain, strong, fear- less, straight-forward patriot, and was re- spected and trusted by his officers and comrades. He was buried in a little plot on his own farm, but his remains were moved October 16, 1855, by his grandson, William W. Murray, and on his head- stone is the inscription: "Died in the service of his country." Mr. Murray mar- ried, about 1767, Rebecca Morris. Chil- dren: William, of further mention; James, at one time in the business of masons' supplies in New York City, later of Rossville, Staten Island, where his de- scendants still live, married Alice -; Joseph, owner of much land in New Jer- sey, resided and was in business in New York City in 1833; two daughters, the younger of whom married - - Havens, and moved to Southern New Jersey.
William Murray, eldest son of Joseph and Rebecca (Morris) Murray, was born August 16, 1771, and died January 25, IS34. He was but nine years old when his father died, and at once was obliged to assist in the support of his mother and the younger children. He was appren- ticed to learn the mason's trade, but did
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not follow this calling in later life. He Red Bank were developed, all business had a team in 1792, and while working was taken from Middletown, and the farm was rented to successive tenants, who allowed it to fall into bad condition. For many years Mr. Murray was postmaster of Middletown, and a trustee of the Bap- tist church, holding this office until his death. He and his wife greatly appre- ciated the value of a good education, and gave their children the best advantages that lay in their power. Mr. Murray mar- ried, November 20, 1817, Mary Crawford, born January 12, 1800, a daughter of George and Eleanor Crawford; great- great-granddaughter of the first John Crawford, of Middletown ; and a descend- ant of Roelif Martinse Schenck, of Long Island ; also of the Rev. Obadiah Holmes, of Rhode Island; and of Sheriff Daniel Hendrickson. Children: Lavinia, mar- ried James M. Hoagland, of the Dutch family of that name in Somerset county, New Jersey; Eleanor Crawford, married Henry G. Scudder, of Huntington, Long Island, a descendant of Thomas Scudder, the first emigrant of that name in Salem in 1635; George Crawford, whose name heads this sketch. with this at plowing, he devoted every moment of his spare time to the study of bookkeeping, mathematics and surveying. He purchased his farm in Middletown village, April 11, 1815, paying $9,000, and later in the same year opened the store, which was conducted under the firm name of William Murray & Son. He was suc- cessful in both enterprises, and carried on both operations along the most pro- gressive lines. The State Bank at Middle- town Point was organized in 1830, and on January 2, 1832, Mr. Murray was elected as a director of this institution, and at the time of his death was one of the larg- est shareholders. He was postmaster of ยท Middletown, and for many years trustee of the Middletown Baptist Church. Au- gust 20, 1832, Mr. Murray sold to the Baptist church, land back of it, to be used for a cemetery, and reserved a plot for himself. Mr. Murray married, December 2, 1792, Anna Schenck, born October 9, 1770, died 'August 17, 1822. Children : William W., of further mention; Eliza, married James Layton, of Chapel Hill and Hedden's Corners, a descendant of William Laiton or Layton, one of the Middletown patentees; James W., mar- ried Maria Lufburrow, and received the old Murray place on Poricy Brook; Sisera Ann, married Joseph Frost; Jo- seph Washington, died in his third year.
William W. Murray, son of William and Anna (Schenck) Murray, was born November 30, 1794, and died June 1, 1865. His education was the ordinary one of a country school, but he early displayed especial ability as a penman, bookkeeper and accountant. He became associated in business with his father in 1815, the firm name being William Murray & Son, and upon the death of the latter, contin- ued the farming and mercantile interests alone. When the towns of Keyport and
George Crawford Murray, only son and youngest child of William W. and Mary (Crawford) Murray, was born in Middle- town, Monmouth county, New Jersey, January 3, 1827, and died there, November 24, 1884. He was but three years of age when his education was commenced in the school conducted by Mr. Austin, in a small building located in Dr. Edward Taylor's garden, opposite the east side of the Episcopal church. in Middletown. He also studied under Mr. Austin, in the old Franklin Academy. At the age of thir- teen years he became a student at the Washington Institute, in New York City, and was there prepared for entrance to Yale College, now Yale University, under the preceptorship of Timothy Dwight Porter. He felt that his especial weak-
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ness was mathematics, and with the en- ergy and ambition so characteristic of him from his earliest years, determined to pursue this study by himself. So success- ful was he in his efforts in this direction that, one year later (1841), he passed his entrance examination to Yale in this branch successfully. September 30, 1843. he received "Professor Playfair's Works" "from the President and Fellows of Yale to George C. Murray, for excelling in the Solution of Mathematical Problems." In 1845 he was graduated as the youngest member of his class. By means of living plainly and economically upon the com- petent allowance he received from his father during his college years, he was enabled to put aside a handsome sum of money which he devoted to the purchase of standard works for a well chosen library. Following is an example of the esteem in which he was held by his class- mates. One of them wrote: "My Dear Murray-An intimate acquaintance with you during the past year has served only to increase the feelings of high esteem which I have always entertained for you, and I regret exceedingly that I am so soon to part with one whose honesty of pur- pose, integrity of principle, united with real solid worth has won my admiration." His classmates expressed their estimate of his character in a series of farewell autographs, in which the words most fre- quently occurring were "integrity of character."
Science and engineering would have been the branches chosen by Mr. Murray had he followed his own inclinations, and he was eminently fitted to achieve success in these fields. But the wishes of his pa- rents were ever a paramount consider- ation with him, and it was their desire that he fit himself for either a legal or medical profession. Having decided upon law, he studied for almost a year
with Peter D. Vroom, of Trenton, New Jersey, and then with the Hon. George Wood, of New York City, and was ad- mitted to practice in the latter State, January 8, 1849. He then returned to Yale College, and there took a post-gradu- ate course in analytical chemistry, in the new scientific department of the college. Returning to his home in August, 1850, he again yielded to the solicitations of his parents, who desired him to abandon pro- fessional work of any kind, and devote himself to agricultural pursuits. Repug- nant as the idea was to his finely trained and developed mind, his filial devotion gained the day and he became a farmer. The energy and earnestness which had characterized his years of study did not fail him in this new field of industry, and he pursued all the distasteful details of farm life with thoroughness and a careful attention to detail, and applied to them original ideas, developed in his scientifi- cally trained mind. Many of these ideas were adopted by others, and some of them changed slightly to meet altered condi- tions, are in use at the present time. While superintending some work in a marl pit, at Groom's Hill, on his farm, Mr. Murray, in February, 1858, had one of his feet crushed by the caving in of a mass of frozen earth, and, as Dr. Willard Parker, the eminent surgeon of New York who was called in consultation, said: "Young man, your clean, temper- ate life will save you and prevent the loss of that foot." The accident, however, caused a permanent lameness which ne- cessitated the use of crutches for some time, and he was never able to walk with- out the aid of a strong cane. The larger part of his work on the farm was ac- complished, thereafter, on horseback. Throughout his life he was an intense suf- ferer as a result of this accident, but bore his sufferings with admirable patience,
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and was always cheerful and uncomplain- ing.
Mr. Murray was a keen observer of cur- rent events, and for some years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War he compiled several volumes of notes of speeches made by himself and others, having a bearing on the subject, and these are of great local interest to Monmouth county. He was frequently the orator of the day on public occasions, one of these, on which he delivered a particularly stirring and patriotic address, being May 26, 1861, when the people of Middletown erected a huge flagpole and raised a handsome flag. At the celebration, July 4, 1861, Mr. Murray made an eloquent and im- passioned speech in favor of an un- divided Union. On numerous other occa- sions he was equally convincing and pa- triotic. While a strong supporter of Democratic principles, Mr. Murray never allowed himself to be bound by party ties, but had the courage of his convictions, and did not hesitate to voice them, even at the expense of personal disadvantage. He was elected to the Legislature of New Jersey in the fall of 1861 and took an ac- tive part in the sessions. He served as a member of the committee on education, and the committee on the State Library. During this session the railroad com- panies were active in their efforts to obtain legislation which should be to their advantage, and in pursuance of this idea many fine dinners were given, to which Mr. Murray was also invited. After re- peated and constant refusals on his part he was notified that if he did not come of his own accord, he would be compelled to attend by means of force. His reply was "that he would not accept the invita- tion ; that he would be in his room at the appointed hour, but he wished to inform them that the first man who attempted to lay his hands upon him would do so at his own peril." He remained unmolested
until the close of the term of office. While he was debarred from active service in the army or navy by reason of his lameness, Mr. Murray was nevertheless an active worker in the cause of the Union. By means of public addresses, by public de- bate, in which he never lost his self con- troi, his influence was wide spread and a beneficial one. When the severity of the Draft Act of 1863 fell upon the poor men of his community, mostly upon the poor fishermen and the naturalized Irishmen, they appealed to him, their friend, for aid, knowing well that if there was help for them it would be found. In February, 1864, he obtained the endorsement of sev- cral prominent men of the town, and was thus enabled to draw a large sum of money from the Middletown Bank to be used for the purchase of substitutes for the poor men of the town who had been drafted, and whose families would be threatened with starvation were the only provider for the family taken from them. Mr. Murray strapped this "bounty money" securely about his body and set out for Washington, February 27, 1864. During this trip of nearly two weeks he was almost afraid to snatch a few mo- ments for much needed rest, owing to the desperate character of men who fol- lowed him constantly, in the hope of se- curing this money. In spite of all his efforts, Mr. Murray was not able to secure the exemption of all the men for whom he pleaded, and upon his return to his home he made immense sacrifices in his en- deavor to support the families who were left destitute. A large share of his crops was bestowed in charity of this nature, and upon him was bestowed the well earned and well deserved title of the "Poor man's friend." As a judge of elec- tion after the war, Mr. Murray accepted those voters who were eligible according to the laws then in force. This was against the ideas of some of the politicians
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and he was advised to leave his home, as his enemies would have him indicted for accepting illegal votes. He answered : "I will be right here on my place. If there is a grand jury in Monmouth county that will indict me for doing my duty, I am willing to stand my trial." And he re- mained at home until notified that the grand jury had refused to listen to the complaint against him.
During his absence in Washington he had been elected assessor for the town- ship of Middletown, an office he filled with ability for a number of years. When land became valuable along the Shrewsbury river for summer residences, Mr. Murray with his usual interest in behalf of the poorer classes, found that the small owners were bearing the larger share of the taxation, and he determined to rec- tify this matter. This resulted, as might have been foreseen, in the making of many enemies among the richer owners. but this did not deter Mr. Murray from carrying out his intention, which he did successfully.
Upon the death of his father in 1865, Mr. Murray succeeded him as trustee of the Middletown Baptist Church, being the third generation in a direct line to hold this office, and in 1872, he was elected clerk of the board of trustees. In order to carry out the provisions of the will of his father, Mr. Murray was obliged to mortgage the farm, and his fortune was further decreased by the development of farming interests in the south and west. He abandoned conservative farming as being unproductive of pecuniary results, and commenced raising products easy of culture and requiring the least amount of labor. In many instances he sup- planted the labor of human hands by ma- chinery of his own invention, and during the period of ten years following the Civil War he made many experiments along
the lines of increasing the commercial value of the products of his farm. A number of the experiments which he then made have since that time been taken into practical use, and have been productive of excellent results. He was neither ex- travagant nor a speculator, but in the scope of his work he was too far in advance of the times. He foresaw the fact that New Jersey would become a residential and commercial State rather than an agricultural one, but the time was not ripe for the successful carrying out of his ideas. When Monmouth county suf- fered heavy losses by the embezzlement of some tax collectors, Mr. Murray was active in the prosecution of George W. Patterson and Alvan B. Hallenbeck, tax collectors of Freehold and Middletown townships. In this matter he was acting deliberately against his private interests, as he was one of the bondsmen of Mr. Hallenbeck, but it was one of his fixed principles to place the public welfare above his private affairs, no matter at what cost to himself. Few believed that he was honest in his conduct of this mat- ter, but he was upheld by the courage of his convictions. Having sustained other losses about the same time, Mr. Murray was unable to pay off the mortgage on his farm, and this was foreclosed in 1880. Bereft of all but his household goods, he again bravely took up the struggle for an existence, handicapped as he was Dy lameness and approaching old age. This struggle, brave as it was, lasted but a few years, as he died on Thanksgiving Day, 1884.
Mr. Murray married, February 27, 1855, Mary Catherine Cooper, born March 20, 1833, a daughter of James and Rebecca (Patterson) Cooper; grand- daughter of George and Abigail (Oakley) Cooper. of Westchester county, New York ; great-granddaughter of James and
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Elizabeth (Douglas) Cooper, the latter a sister of Alexander Douglas, who earned fame at the battle of Trenton ; and a de- scendant of "Benjamin Cooper, yeoman, late of ye Fresh Kills, Staten Island, now (1712) of Middletown, Monmouth coun- ty, New Jersey." Rebecca (Patterson) Cooper was the daughter of Judge Jehu and Hannah (Gordon) Patterson, the lat- ter a great-granddaughter of Charles Gor- don, one of the founders of old Tennent Church. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Mur- ray: I. Mary Crawford, became the wife of Dr. Ovid Allen Hyde, of Brooklyn, New York; children: Chester Ovid, and George Crawford, deceased. 2. Ella Cooper, became the wife of William T. Van Brunt, of Middletown, New Jersey ; children: George Crawford, deceased ; and Catherine M. 3. George Crawford, a practical electrician ; married (first) Ger- trude Whitman, of Brooklyn, New York; child, Gertrude Dorothy; married (sec- ond) Mary Daud, of Brooklyn, New York; children : Maria Daud and Anita.
PERRY, Capt. Samuel Edmund,
Lawyer, Legislator, National Guard Officer.
Although widely known by his military title, it was as a lawyer and public official that Captain Perry best served his native State. One of the old school of lawyers, he won the confidence of the judges of the higher and inferior courts, and many im- portant causes were committed to his cap- able professional care. He was a member of the Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey bars, and practiced in all three States ; but his greatest fame as a lawyer was won as a member of the Atlantic county bar in his native State, practicing in Atlantic City while living in a beautiful home at Somers Point. But he was claim- ed by and belonged to the entire county, where his labors as professional man and citizen resulted in great benefit to all.
As a lawyer he won fame in the conduct of a number of cases famous in New Jer- sey Law Reports. Among the more cele- brated cases in which he was counsel the following attracted unusual public atten- tion: Burke vs. Tighe, a murder case ; the Black Hussars case, growing out of the unwarranted cowardly attack upon Sheriff Gaunt, of Gloucester county ; the case of Robert Elder, indicted for the murder of his father, near Hammonton, Captain Perry being senior counsel in as- sociation with former Judge Endicott ; the defense of Eva Hamilton, in August, 1889, the last named case winning Captain Perry great fame, and placing him in the front rank of criminal lawyers. As a pub- lic official he made an enviable record, performing the duties of the offices of trust that were bestowed upon him with scrupulous fidelity. He was of most genial nature, with kindly word and pleas- ant smile for all. He gained worldly com- petence, and might have given himself long years of ease had he so desired, but he was so deeply interested in community affairs and so loath to deny his friends the legal aid they desired, that he continued "in the harness" until life's sands were nearly run. When, however, his last brief was filed, and he appeared before the Great Judge, it was with the con- fidence that his case was well prepared, that there was no flaw in the record, and that the verdict, "Well done, good and faithful servant," would be rendered.
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